a·ri·pip·ra·zole (??r?-p?p?r?-z?l?)n. An antipsychotic drug, C23H27Cl2N3O2, that functions as a partial dopamine receptor agonist and is used to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and, in combination with other drugs, depression.[Perhaps from shortening and alteration of the name of Arvid Carlsson (born 1923), Swedish pharmacologist and Nobel laureate who identified the role of dopamine as a neurotransmitter in the brain and suggested the possibility of developing partial dopamine receptor agonists as treatments for psychosis + pip(e)raz(ine) + -ole.]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.